Automobile-steering-post lock



L. S. McCORMICKi AUTOMOBiLE STEERING POST LOCK.

AWUCATXON HLED DEKLZT, l9l9.

PatentedSept. 21; 1920.

INVENTOR. I 6 Loyd EM; Cormcli,

W I TNESS: {M Ze- A TTORNEY.

PATENT OFFICE.

LOYD s. uncommon, F LEAVENWORTH, KANSAS.

AUTOMOBILE-STEEBING-POST LOCK.

Specification of Letters 'l ntent.

l'al'unlml Supt. 21. 19150.

Application filed December 27. 1918. Serial No. 347,729

To (11 who! 1'! mi/y (1111mm..-

lir il known that l. lmrn MUCORMLUK. u (him-n of fins lnitrd Hiatus. residing; ill. liouvon\rol l'li in tho county of linzwonn'ortli, mid State of Kansas. have invonlud (:ort-nin now and useful improvements in Auloniohilu-iteering-Post Lorks, of which the follo\rin; is n specification.

My invention relates to means for lorlv hut the stooring grar of ziuton'iol'iilos, so that tho some runnot be towed or driven away liy unnutln'n'izrd [)GI'SUHS. 'l'hr inwnlion tlliil'ihud vomlvinution look, iltkilili i i-al l-n' 'llillilfilh rontrolled liy suid rgunhiniiliou l li mid udnptod to secure on starring p i. :ig:ii|i'-t r tation so that the nui moliiir in not ho indwl. and :1. motor-tin mom would rd upon the slowing (Uilllllll nod iitilwiiq; said h lt methnnisni and all oill':l,' 'iIi;l1i1iiion look i-xvepting its lcnoh and dial.

in ordor that the invention may in ul \uulerstood, reteronre will now ho had tho ncronipnnying drnwing. in \vhi lir Figure his: a fragmentary side BlBnttlOli of n ntwring rolnmn equipped with tho in volition.

Figs. 2 is an irregular longitudinal surtion taken on line'IL-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 i a fragmentary sidev elevation partly in srrtion of the flexihlo bolt mruhw llla'll].

Fig. 4 is a. fragmentary sectional View of m ans for securing the door of the (:uso in nlosed position.

Referring now in detail to thrvarious parts, A designates the steering r'olumn and B the steering post which is rotu'tuoly mounted within said column A and connect ed by the. usual linkage to the. front wheels of the automobile for guiding the same.

The steering column A is reinforced by a ring 2, preferably, made in two parts and firmly clamped in position by suitziliilo means, such as bolts 4. The steering post B is likewise, reinforced with a ring 6 secured to said post by suitable means, such nf-f srrows Tho ring 2 is provided with a guide slot 10 with which any one of the lmupors l2 formed in the ring 6. are ndnptod to register to receive it supplemental bolt [4, whereby said steering post B may he reliahly soonreil from rotation.

Tin holt M is hrovided with a pair of 0y: linrliirnl r-xl'rnsions l6 loosely mounloil in "ouniorhoros iii in u monihor E firmly socurod by suitublo menus, such as screws 22 to tho l'orwnrii and of tho nuiin bolt 24 of lho romhilultion llH'li' 2U. lho cylindrical rxtonsions Hi of tho supplemental holt l4; hurt pirrund-nlot ronnoi-tions 2% with tho momher if) and um normally held in an nd- \'tt!l('Wl position by light coil springs 30, or rnnund in the counter-horns 12*.

The combination lock :56 is of usual construotion and oonti-ollod in the usual mnnnor hy u knob 32 having u dial 34 inscribed llilirolr 'liu. roiniorrinp rings 3 and (i and tho M ni:-

o 'lu' iliinni m: l h' .lli 13W i-"n'lmpwi l t? to protmzl said rings and look l au Ming lzlliiii il'y' l Willi. Th rem Hiloi w om; Eu it." top iiud lizitlj'illl ozlllf. all MP1! other Ilulrri'ing whorl llil'r. horn liEH l' l mid iuso .351 may in: slipped di n-uil 1 ,iyl' iliM-dxrriun wlunu: and tho mini-Lu ing ring. .in-i (3. and he firmly su- :"lii'i'ii to said ring 4 h suitable hit-HHS such as sc-iows 4U, whit-l1 ure accessible only from the: insiilov of tho (use 38.

The (use is proviitlod with a relatively large door 442 crini'n-wted' at one end to said ouse 38 by a hinge t4. and provided at its opposito end with a. manually controlled bolt 46 :i-rlaptod to enter a recess 48 in the. rose. 38. The bolt 46 is mounted in a o. ill nud exten s outwardly through a slot iii. in the door 42, and is provided with a knob 54, whereby it may he operated.

An nutmnntio bolt in also employed to look the door 42 in ulobod position when the stoering post Pi is lo ked. so that ncr' oss rimnoi ho had t th look moohanism within The automatic bolt 60 is adapted to enter 'a recess in the case 38 and is slidubly mounted in a guide, 64:, which like the guide 50, is fixed to the innor side of the door -42. A coil spring 66 is interposed between the uido 64 and u flange 70 on the rear and o the holt 60, to unlock the same when tlie'supplementnl bolt 14 is withdrawn from the keeper [2. When the main bolt 24 and the supplemental bolt 14. together with the momher 20, are advanced to lock the stool-lug post 3. u lug 72 on said member 20 engages the flange 70 and pushes the bolt (30 into the recess 62. From the. foregoing it will he understood that the door 42 of the. case 38 is automatically locked b the bolt 6" at the time. the starring post is locked and thi-i; said door 42 is automatically unlocked through the notion of the spring 66, so that access may be gained to ill 1hr case 38.

the interior of the case 38 for repairs and adi'ustments when the steering post B is un ocked.

When the automobile is runnin along the main bolt 24 is prevented b a yieldable detent 74 from being moved orwardly b vibration and locking the steering post I. Said detent 74 is pivotally mounted on a lug 76 formed on the inner side of the door 42 and provided with a shoulder 78 a ainst which said detent 74is yieldably heh by a spring 80, secured to the lug 61. When the main bolt 24 is thrown forwardly by manually rotating the knob 32 of the com inatlon lock, the pressure of the spring 80 is overcome and the detent 74 is swung out of the way by the member 20.

y employing a combination lock as above-described, there are no keys to become lost or misplaced and the combination for actuating said lock can be changed whenever desired, and by employing a flexible connection between the supplemental bolt 14 and the main bolt 24, the latter cannot be damaged when pressure is exerted on the former by an unauthorized person in at temptin to turn the steering wheel C to guide the automobile. Furthermore, said flexible connection enables the main bolt 24 to move forward through a greater distance than the supplemental bolt 14 and compress the springs 30, so that the same will hold laid bolt 14 in the registering keeper 12.

From the foregoing description it will be readily understood that I have provided an efficient locking mechanism whereby the steel-in posts of an automobile can be reliably loc ed against rotation, thus insuring an automobile equipped with such lock against theft, and while I have shown and described the preferred form of my invention, I re serve the right to make such changes in the construction, combination and arrangement of arts as properly fall within the spirit an scope of the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pateat, is:

1. In combination with the steering est and the steering column of an automo ile,

nuance mechanism for locking said steering post from rotation, a case surrounding the steering column and inclosing the main portion of the lock mechanism, a door to said case to permit access thereto, a bolt to lock said door in closed position, spring means to throw said bolt to inactive position, so that the door may be opened, and means coir trolled by the lock mechanism for moving said bolt to active position at the time the steering post is locked. I

2. in combination with the steerin post and the steering column of an automo ile, a supplemental bolt for locking the steering post from rotation, at combinationlock having a main bolt, a yieldable connection between said main bolt and the supplemental bolt whereby the latter is actuated by the former, a case surrounding the steering column and inclosing the supplemental bolt and the major portion of the combination lock, and mechanism carried by said case to prevent the main bol from being moved outwardly by ibration and thus effecting the locking of the steering post.

3. in combination with the steering post and the steering column of an automobil' a l'lIl I fixed to said steering post and provided wit] a plurality of keepers, a two-piece ring clamped to the steering column and pro vided with a guide slot with which the keepers are adapted to register, a lock having a case inclosing the two rings and se cured to the two-piece ring, a supplemental bolt in the case adapted to be guided by said guide slot into engagement with a registerin I keeper, a main bolt in the case to actuate said supplemental bolt, a door to the lock case, a secondary bolt actuated by the main bolt to lock the door when the main bolt is advanced, and a spring to retract said sec ondary bolt when the main bolt is restored to inactive position.

in testimony whereof I aflix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

LOYD S. MoCORMICK. Witnesses F. G. Fisrmn, L. J. France. 

